DPH: New COVID variant cases could mean wider exposure in CT FacebookTwitterEmail Medical personnel work in Hartford HealthCare’s new drive-through COVID-19 testing sight inside the parking garage adjacent to the Arena at Harbor Yard, in Bridgeport, Conn. Jan. 25, 2021.Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media Four new cases of an infectious COVID variant reported over the weekend could indicate the strain is more widespread in Connecticut, the state Department of Public Health said. Connecticut health officials have now recorded 20 cases of the variant, known as B.1.1.7, including the new cases reported Saturday. Prior to Saturday’s announcement, which came in the form of an alert sent by the agency ahead of Super Bowl Sunday, all of the state’s B.1.17 cases had been found in New Haven County. But two of the latest cases were found outside New Haven County.